Daily Archives: September 8, 2024

Resistance to Hungarian presidency’s new push for child sexual abuse prevention regulation – because it’s a draconian spying law asking for 100% coverage of digital comms

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Resistance to the Hungarian presidency’s approach to the EU’s draft law to combat online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was still palpable during a member states’ meeting on Wednesday (4 September).

The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU aims to secure consensus on the proposed law to combat online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by October, according to an EU diplomat and earlier reports by Politico.

Hungary has prepared a compromise note on the draft law, also reported by Contexte.

The note, presented at a meeting of ambassadors on Wednesday, seeks political guidance to make progress at the technical level, the EU diplomat told Euractiv.

With the voluntary regime expiring in mid-2026, most member states agree that urgent action is needed, the diplomat continued.

But some member states are still resistant to the Hungarian’s latest approach.

The draft law to detect and remove online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was removed from the agenda of Thursday’s (20 June) meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), who were supposed to vote on it.

Sources close to the matter told Euractiv, that Poland and Germany remain opposed to the proposal, with smaller member states also voicing concerns, potentially forming a blocking minority.

Although France and the Netherlands initially supported the proposal, the Netherlands has since withdrawn its support, and Italy has indicated that the new proposal is moving in the right direction.

As a result, no agreement was reached to move forward.

Currently, an interim regulation allows companies to voluntarily detect and report online CSAM. Originally set to expire in 2024, this measure has been extended to 2026 to avoid a legislative gap, as the draft for a permanent law has yet to be agreed.

Hungary is expected to introduce a concrete textual proposal soon. The goal is to agree on its general approach by October, the EU diplomat said, a fully agreed position among member states which serves as the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is preparing to send a detailed opinion to Hungary regarding the draft law, expected by 30 September, Contexte reported on Wednesday.

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In the text, the presidency also suggested extending the temporary exemption from certain provisions of the ePrivacy Directive, which governs privacy and electronic communications, for new CSAM and grooming.

[…]

Source: Resistance lingers to Hungarian presidency’s new push for child sexual abuse prevention regulation – Euractiv

See also:

The EU Commission’s Alleged CSAM Regulation ‘Experts’ giving them free reign to spy on everyone: can’t be found. OK then.

EU delays decision over continuous spying on all your devices *cough* scanning encrypted messages for kiddie porn

Signal, MEPs urge EU Council to drop law that puts a spy on everyone’s devices

European human rights court says backdooring encrypted comms is against human rights

EU Commission’s nameless experts behind its “spy on all EU citizens” *cough* “child sexual abuse” law

EU Trys to Implement Client-Side Scanning, death to encryption By Personalised Targeting of EU Residents With Misleading Ads

 

Finaly people urge FTC to ban hardware tethering – downgrades, transferral costs, sudden bricking, unexpected subscriptions

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Consumer and digital rights activists are calling on the US Federal Trade Commission to stop device-makers using software to reduce product functionality, bricking unloved kit, or adding surprise fees post-purchase.

In an eight-page letter [PDF] to the Commission (FTC), the activists mentioned the Google/Levis collaboration on a denim jacket that contained sensors enabling it to control an Android device through a special app. When the app was discontinued in 2023, the jacket lost that functionality. The letter also mentions the “Car Thing,” an automotive infotainment device created by Spotify, which bricked the device fewer than two years after launch and didn’t offer a refund.

Another example highlighted is the $1,695 Snoo connected bassinet, manufactured by an outfit named Happiest Baby. Kids outgrow bassinets, yet Happiest Baby this year notified customers that if they ever sold or gave away their bassinets, the device’s next owner would have to pay a new $19.99 monthly subscription fee to keep certain features. Activists argue that reduces the resale value of the devices.

Signatories to the letter include individuals from Consumer Reports, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, teardown artists iFixit, and the Software Freedom Conservancy. Environmental groups and computer repair shops also signed the letter.

The signatories urged the FTC to create “clear guidance” that would prevent device manufacturers from using software that locks out features and functions in products that are already owned by customers.

The practice of using software to block features and functions is referred to by the signatories as “software tethering.”

“Consumers need a clear standard for what to expect when purchasing a connected device,” stated Justin Brookman, director of technology policy at Consumer Reports and a former policy director of the FTC’s Office of Technology, Research, and Investigation. “Too often, consumers are left with devices that stop functioning because companies decide to end support without little to no warning. This leaves people stranded with devices they once relied on, unable to access features or updates.”

“Consumers increasingly face a death by a thousand cuts as connected products they purchase lose their software support or advertised features that may have prompted the original purchase,” the letter states. “They may see the device turned into a brick or their favorite features locked behind a subscription. Such software tethers also prevent consumers from reselling their purchases, as some software features may not transfer, or manufacturers may shut down devices, causing a second-hand buyer harm.”

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Source: Activists urge FTC to ban hardware downgrades • The Register

More recent examples are Anova suddenly charging for a subscription, Peloton suddenly asking for an extra fee for resold units. In the past the field is long and littered, with video games being orphaned being pretty huge, but many many gadget makers (Logitech is really good at this) abandoning products and bricking them.

AI helps find simple charging trick to boost li-ion battery lifespan

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A simple change in how new lithium-ion batteries are charged can boost their total lifespans by 50 per cent on average – and battery manufacturers everywhere can immediately put the discovery into action. Extended battery lifespans could prove especially crucial for improving electric vehicles and energy storage for electricity grids.

“The cool thing is that we didn’t change any chemistry of the battery,” says William Chueh at Stanford University in California. “We just changed that last step in manufacturing to form the battery a little differently.”

Factories usually charge new batteries for the first time using low electric currents over many hours. But Chueh and his colleagues found that charging a new battery using high currents can significantly increase the number of times it can be recharged.

They used AI machine learning to identify the most important factors impacting battery performance during the first charge, and charging current was one of the most crucial. The researchers confirmed this result by constructing and experimenting on 186 batteries, and those first charged using a high current had a 50 per cent longer lifespan on average. For example, using this method, an electric car battery could go from lasting just 1500 recharge cycles to more than 2200 cycles.

Their finding subverts conventional wisdom because charging at a high current instead of a low one inactivates more lithium ions in a new battery – and the supply of lithium ions flowing back and forth between negative and positive electrodes determines how much charge the battery can hold. But the initial loss of lithium ions creates extra space in the positive electrode that enables the battery to cycle more efficiently when charging and draining, says team member Xiao Cui, also at Stanford University.

During the initial charging process, the inactivated lithium ions also become part of a protective layer on the negative electrode that can slow down battery degradation.

Source: AI helps find simple charging trick to boost battery lifespan | New Scientist

WaveCore beams gigabit network bridge link through concrete wall

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Airvine Scientific has a product that could make life easier for IT staff. WaveCore is designed to beam a network signal through thick concrete walls, eliminating the need to drill holes or route your cabling via a circuitous course.

The Silicon Valley wireless company says its newly introduced kit is quick to deploy and can penetrate thick concrete walls and floors in commercial real estate structures.

Drilling a hole for a cabling might mean time-consuming and costly inspections to get permits, and having to to go around it might mean routing cables via the nearest elevator or riser shaft, it says.

WaveCore is basically a pair of devices that form a point-to-point Ethernet bridge using a wireless signal capable of penetrating up to 12 inches (30 cm) of concrete and brick at multi-gigabit data rates. An Ethernet bridge is simply a way of linking separate network segments, in this case through a thick wall that would otherwise pose an obstacle.

wc airvine

Concrete walls are an average thickness of 8 inches (20 cm) or more in commercial real estate buildings around the world, the firm says. These types of walls may form the building’s outer perimeter, serve as interior load bearing walls or create protection for spaces such as fire control or network server rooms.

Airvine claims that tests with select customers earlier this year delivered results such as a 3 Gbps connection through 8 inches of concrete in the middle of a 54-foot (16 meter) link, and a 4 Gbps connection through a 12 inch (30 cm) concrete wall in a garage that was in the middle of a 6-foot (1.8 meter) link.

In a blog post discussing WaveCore, VP of Marketing Dave Sumi explains how it had been developed off the back of an existing product, WaveTunnel, which operates as an indoor wireless backbone in factories, warehouses, conference centers and similar large sites.

This can penetrate most interior walls and bend around corners, but the company says the one obstacle that it just couldn’t avoid and get around is thick concrete walls.

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Source: WaveCore beams gigabit network link through 1ft-thick wall